Photo by GT Luke
Anytime a builder gets to ride, it’s a beautiful thing but anytime a builder gets to race one of their own bikes, it’s pretty fucking rad. Seth Rosko raced Single Speed-A-Palooza last weekend and NYC-area photographer GT Luke caught him ripping up his SS 650b rigid MTB.
Ok, ok. I’m playing hookie right now from the interwebs and am probably staring down the rear brake yolk on this beaut, ripping through the limestone and singletrack of Austin. There’s something to be said about a bike that’s usually seen from the rear during a race, which is what a lot of Wilis‘ race companions had the pleasure of admiring. Cross bikes aren’t meant to be dainty, precious objects that you wipe down every day. They’re meant to be dirty, muddy and fast.
Wilis showed up to Austin with his Rosko cross bike and it was too clean to shoot photos. We’ve been riding a lot, #corndogging and just having a blast hitting the local trails and hills. After a couple days of that, his bike looked good and happy, i.e. primed to shoot photos. I love Seth Rosko’s work and was very pumped on his grassroots support for King Kog during this year’s cross season. The team did well and the bikes did exceptionally well, even Wilis’ Campagnolo beast saw the podium on more than one occasion.
There’s something very metal about a black bike and this one’s got battle scars just about everywhere, save for the Cadence bar tape. Oh and the Pearl Velo bottle was my touch! We’re both fans of H.G. Wells.
Seth Rosko is much more than a frame builder to me. He’s a good friend and someone that I just enjoy being around. Seeing him build bikes is just an added bonus. Everyone claims to be a New Yorker, but Seth is one of those guys who was around when it all began. A huge advocate in the local skate scene and ex-Brooklyn Machine Works builder, he’s seen the cycling scene in NYC change over the years.
For the past few months, he’s been pushing grassroots racing in NYC. Building road and cross racing frames for fledgling teams and local racers. Most notably, the King Kog cross bikes, a bike for Matthew of Cicli Devotion and a few other road bikes for some local female racers.
During my short stay in NYC, I swung by Rosko Cycles to see how Seth makes use of his small, cramped work space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Photos by Alan Tansey
When two local brands come together for the good of grassroots racin’, It’s a wonderful thing. Take this project for example. Cicli Devotion and Seth Rosko. Two familiar names here on the site and two of my good friends in Brooklyn. While the official framebuilder sponsor is Rick Jones, Matthew had already commissioned Seth to build his and the outcome is damn classy. Nice looking Horse Cycles paint too! Many thanks to Alan for the photos and Matthew for sending these over. Check out more below!
Here’s Seth Rosko’s profile for Peter Sutherland‘s “The Way I Roll” series for Thule. Man, seeing Seth cruising Brooklyn makes me miss him and the old ‘hood. Ride safe my friend and keep building.
Previously:
Peter Sutherland for Thule
I have long admired the work of Peter Sutherland and it appears Thule feels the same way, enough to let him film 6 videos named “The Way I Roll“. Featuring Salvador “Sal” Barbier, Lucas Brunelle, Nicole Duke, Chris Van Dine, Gina Marie Scardino and Seth Rosko (will be posted shortly).
I’ve known Dan for many years and before he was a road or cross racer, he was a bike messenger and a photography student. This “shoot as you go” mentality has done him well and with a recent purchase, he’s been keeping his blog up to date with candid photography like this. You should really follow him on Tumblr and make sure you Ask him all the tough questions like “how can I win the Red Hook Crit next year?”.
Seth Rosko‘s bikes are on point, so it should be of no surprise that his shirts would be the same. Get yourself one of these and sing praises to the church of steel.
There’s no “buy now” button so you’ve got to send Seth an email to get one. Proceeds will go towards him getting a new web site.
You might recognize this bike from the profile I did on Seth Rosko and Johnny Coast a few years back. The Atavistic Urge was a video Sara Kinney and I worked on, showcasing the two Brooklyn framebuilders. At the time, Seth had just gotten this bike back from paint and was anxious to build it up. Now, almost two years later, Seth’s been putting in miles on his bike. This simple street fixed setup is one to drool over, especially when it comes to that paint!
Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab and if you haven’t seen the Atavistic Urge, I embedded it below.
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